1989 AIME Problems/Problem 4
Contents
[hide]Problem
If are consecutive positive integers such that
is a perfect square and
is a perfect cube, what is the smallest possible value of
?
Solution
Since the middle term of an arithmetic progression with an odd number of terms is the average of the series, we know and
. Thus,
must be in the form of
based upon the first part and in the form of
based upon the second part, with
and
denoting an integers.
is minimized if it’s prime factorization contains only
, and since there is a cubed term in
,
must be a factor of
.
, which works as the solution.
Solution 2
Let ,
,
, and
equal
,
,
, and
, respectively. Call the square and cube
and
, where both k and m are integers. Then:
Now we know is a multiple of 125 and
is a multiple of 5. The lower
is, the lower the value of
will be. Start from 5 and add 5 each time.
gives no solution for k
gives no solution for k
gives a solution for k.
-jackshi2006
See also
1989 AIME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 3 |
Followed by Problem 5 | |
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